http://www.fhs.ksoutdoors.com/
2011 Governor's Flint Hills Visioning Summit
Agenda
9:00 Registration, Coffee, Meet & Greet
9:30 Welcome and Introduction of the Governor Senator Jeff Longbine
9:35 Opening Remarks Governor Brownback; Greeting/Comments Lt. Governor Jeff Colyer
10:00 Current Vision for the Flint Hills
• Wildlife, Parks & Tourism – How does it fit? Secretary Jennison
• Tourism (Fermata & Beyond) Becky Blake
• KDOT's Role in the Economic Development of the Flint Hills Maggie Thompson-Doll
• Rural Business Development (Commerce) Carole Jordan
• Marketing our Agricultural Assets (Dept. Of Ag) Chris Wilson
• Conservation -The Power of Partnerships Brian Obermeyer
(Voluntary Conservation Easements)
11:00 Break
11:15 Break out session
• What are the top 3 priorities to create jobs & achieve sustainable communities in the Flint Hills?
• What's stopping us?
12:00 Governor's Address Gov. Sam Brownback
Lunch, Networking
1:15 Symphony in the Flint Hills/Art in the Flint Hills (video trailer) Emily Hunter
Flint Hills Tourism Coalition – Who We Are and Where We're Headed? Suzan Barnes
Flint Oaks Hunting Lodge – "Adding to the Local Economy" Jeff Oakes
Flint Hills Regional Council – The Driving Force behind the Movement Ty Warner
Flint Hills Discovery Center – The Vision and the Impact Bob Workman
2:30 Break
2:45 Panel Discussion, "Moving Forward"
This session will be facilitated by Governor Brownback. Audience participation will be highly
encouraged.
• Becky Blake (KS Tourism) Suzan Barnes (Flint Hills Tourism Coalition)
• Emily Hunter (Symphony in the Flint Hills) Jeff Oakes (Flint Oaks Lodge)
• Ty Warner (Flint Hills Regional Council) Bob Workman (Flint Hills Discovery Center)
• Brian Obermeyer (The Nature Conservancy) Maggie Thompson-Doll (KDOT)
• Marci Penner (Kansas Sampler Foundation) Senator Jeff Longbine (Emporia)
• Carole Jordan (KS Commerce) Chris Wilson (KS Ag)
• What are the next steps?
• Who is responsible?
4:00 Break
4:15 Governor's Summation of the Day......Setting the Direction & Accountability for the future
4:30 Adjourn
Governor's Summit- Flint Oak ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? I am so shocked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Quote from: greatguns on May 16, 2011, 09:02:22 PM
Governor's Summit- Flint Oak ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? I am so shocked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Wonder if everybody is gonna sit in little kindergarten circles. And who's supplying the post-it notes? Personally, I suspect the venue is better suited to the task than the Howard Library. And people call me negative!?! Hmmph.
Whoa, let's rein this horse in a bit.
The Visioning Summit is not being held at Flint Oak. It's being held at Camp Wood YMCA southwest of Elmdale in Chase County. My bad for not having that as part of the original post.
The reference made to Flint Oak (if you read the agenda) is about the fact that Jeff Oaks of Flint Oak will be a presenter and panel discussion member at the Summit.
Quote from: flintauqua on May 16, 2011, 09:43:44 PM
Whoa, let's rein this horse in a bit.
The Visioning Summit is not being held at Flint Oak. It's being held at Camp Wood YMCA southwest of Elmdale in Chase County. My bad for not having that as part of the original post.
The reference made to Flint Oak (if you read the agenda) is about the fact that Jeff Oaks of Flint Oak will be a presenter and panel discussion member at the Summit.
Thanks for the clarification.
I understood where it was and I understand the Governor doesn't want to ruin the beautiful Flinthills with wind farms. Tourism is what he is all about. Fllinthills could be the Sturgis for horseback riders. Flint Oak for tourism. Nice marriage. :P
Just how is the governour going to get the ranchers to let people on horseback ride through their herds?
It appears that he just says this is how it is going to be.
Da' Big Bucks ride agin! I had a feelin' that Big Erl mighta had a hand in this. :o
This morning's news contained the results of a survey that was done, I think by KWCH, on whether or not the people surveyed favored wind farms in the Flint Hills. The result was overhelmingly FOR wind farms.
Again, I am just reporting what I heard on the news. Please don't take it as my opinion.
Quote from: Wilma on May 17, 2011, 07:07:59 AM
Just how is the governour going to get the ranchers to let people on horseback ride through their herds?
You and others say that some of us are negative, have no vision, want to keep growth & development away and are trying to stop progress. Consider the possibility that we argue against those who keep doing the same crap that hasn't worked for years. History is full of examples of civilizations building on local natural resources. Use what you have the most of so to speak. Now you and others are being the 'it'll never work' crowd. Yes, there will be resistance, there always is. Maybe it's that, down deep, you actually like being stuck with the status quo. $2.8 billion is a lot of outside money being voluntarily spent in the region and it probably won't take near the taxpayer subsidies that some other forms of development need to stay afloat. Consider the following:Summit seeks to increase tourism in the Flint Hills...Becky Blake, state tourism director, quoted studies that showed travelers are seeking new, affordable destinations closer to home that help them connect with their families and the land.
She said the allure is already there. In 2009 visitors spent about $2.8 billion in the region, though that study included Topeka and Wichita.
Brownback championed making the Flint Hills a major destination for equestrian trail riders. State tourism officials said it is the fastest growing of all horse-riding events.
Guided horseback trips on three Flint Hills ranches should begin in early 2012, according to Tom Warner, a Kansas State University professor who has been working on the idea for several years...Full article: http://www.kansas.com/2011/05/18/1853191/summit-seeks-to-increase-tourism.html (http://www.kansas.com/2011/05/18/1853191/summit-seeks-to-increase-tourism.html)Won't work? Looks like it already is. Stupid idea? We'll see. Now, what is Elk County going to do?
What...no BIcycling of the FLint Hills. There's a position for me. People travel all over the world to bike a new trail. Let's make the wind farms tourist destinations. Put up a little educational building like they have for Big Brutus and let people have an up close experience with it. I'm excited at the possibilities.
Quote from: Roma Jean Turner on May 18, 2011, 08:43:31 AM
What...no BIcycling of the FLint Hills. There's a position for me. People travel all over the world to bike a new trail. Let's make the wind farms tourist destinations. Put up a little educational building like they have for Big Brutus and let people have an up close experience with it. I'm excited at the possibilities.
Creative thinking! Very refreshing, Roma. Cycle the Flint Hills... Invite tourists & tourist dollars... Maybe an old time livery stable for the horse riders. And we'll put in a bicycle shop or two for you too! Heck, would you manage the new Rent-a-Bike center? ;)
I repeat, how is the governour going to get the ranchers to let people on horseback ride through their herds? Or for that matter, people on bicycles. Look out for the bulls and the wild mama cows.
Also, in your answer to my first post, what does your answer have to do with horseback riding through herds of cattle?
Quote from: Wilma on May 18, 2011, 09:16:02 AM
I repeat, how are is the governour going to get the ranchers to let people on horseback ride through their herds? Or for that matter, people on bicycles. Look out for the bulls and the wild mama cows.
Also, in your answer to my first post, what does your answer do with horseback riding through herds of cattle?
The 'how' is the Governor's problem. But, if you'll take the time to read the article I referenced, you'll see that some local resistance to the idea is anticipated. You'll also see that some ranchers are receptive, have already supported the plan and therefore may have found ways to eliminate the mad cow problem. Sometimes diversification isn't just about blocking off an area to raise alfalfa for hay. There... all better now?
http://www.kansasbeautiful.com/central-kansas-tourism/23-flint-hills-flint-hills-kansas.html
List of ranches that are already doing the trailride vacation thing
http://www.flinthillsflyingw.com/riding
http://kansasflinthills.travel/destinations/agri-tourism
Pam,
I won't mistakenly assume you support the concept, but thanks for the info. Personally, I think the concept is a good use of natural resources that might help a few people back to their roots. Other than that, it could employ one hell of a lot more than 5 or 6 people regionally.
Now, who in our little corner of the world can see any possibilities that could help Elk County? Tourism anybody? Or shall we wait for more manna from reverend government, the deacons of do it for my place & the multinational boys choir?
Quote from: Patriot on May 18, 2011, 10:55:05 AM
Pam,
I won't mistakenly assume you support the concept, but thanks for the info. Personally, I think the concept is a good use of natural resources that might help a few people back to their roots. Other than that, it could employ one hell of a lot more than 5 or 6 people regionally.
Now, who in our little corner of the world can see any possibilities that could help Elk County? Tourism anybody? Or shall we wait for more manna from reverend government, the deacons of do it for my place & the multinational boys choir?
Just proves your IGNORANCE of me truly Patriot...I TOTALLY approve of such ventures.
I posted those links just for the information that it can and IS being done.
We are just like a sheep need to be herded. If Sam says "no wind" we will now be pro road-apples and saddle up.
I think the visioning is the same as steering. A group of government and industry people in a structured meeting with published itinerary conversing about guiding the public towards a more positive future. It consisted of grandstanding the numbers of the projected tourism dollars. Looking at national trends and local assets and trying to unify an entire third of the state shifting the negatives of the proposal to accentuate the positives. Even had the gall to suggest, from one of the largest recipients of wind energy moneys in the state, that we name our personally branded bovine as Flint Hills beef to be a tag worn with honor with a promise of better relations with the ranchers if we increase the value of their toil by 20%.
Who sponsored this event and what day did they publish their blah, blah, blah?
What's next only taking black cattle at the closest packing house to the area? Oh....They already do that.
With the current bio security issues and there has been an outbreak of a horrid equine disease: Rhino EHV-1 (Equine Herpesvirus). This is a mutant strain of the neurological variation of Rhino, there is no vaccine for it, and it is lethal.
So lets promote getting horses from all over the country to come together in one place for extended periods of time.
Oh, I forgot bovine aren't native to the fauna of the Tallgrass prairie. They will be removed like the inefficient towers of avian death that they graze in the shade of. One call to Ted and bison from Nebraska to Oklahoma.
Next week through conversations with the digital photography industry and local agricultural entities there will only be white cows allowed on the east slopes 30 minuted prior to sunset as the black ones dominate the eye in the photographs drawing attention away from the principle focus of the horizon. This is not an enforceable law just an agreement with all parties involved.
Thursday is a summit on the governor's new line of tack and synthetic pleather saddles. All nylon, no leather, from a subsidized Koch oil byproduct extruded by BASF in New Dehli, because killing cows is wrong in India. One of our principle markets for rich people that have never been on horse with a good monetary exchange rate. Mc Donalds in the aforementioned zone will now only serve curry and bean paste on a bun. The product will launch a new partnership between the grassroots Tea party movement and the telemarketers industry.
Remember May is killed-the-terrorist month so all goat meat marketed in the Tallgrass zone is 5-11% off only until the end of the month.
When the naked PETA protesters show up in town to protest the using of a horse to carry us to the visioneering retreat will have made it. Because we all know that after PETA shows up with the natural flesh, HSUS will come by with an undercover docu-series to spout some dribble about the colon cleansing tofu that is being made from the best Brazilian soy that has more protein than any farm raised chemically altered chicken, pig, or cow and protest that there is a confinement hog operation with-in the voluntary Tallgrass no profit zone.
I was wondering who was going the buy all the back-stocked tins of imported caviar, now I will rest assured Sam has us down the head-to-tail guided trail of enlightenment.
ADP....if you are talkin to me......What?????
I really dont think the government had anything to do with the ranchers I posted capitalizing on city people wantin to play cowboy for a couple days and usin it as a way to raise cash.
It started as INITIATIVE and INNOVATION and usin what they had. I am ALL for that. I dont give a shit what color cows anybody has or which side of the hill they graze on.
As for the horses....most places require a vet, make that CURRENT vet check as far as I know.......
UH....
As for the rest of your somewhat confusing post......I say again What?????
Quote from: ADP on May 18, 2011, 02:57:09 PM
We are just like a sheep need to be herded....ad nauseum.
And you still accuse others of being negative? What's your plan, and how's it better? I think your biggest problem may be that horses don't require a 220 outlet.
Quote from: thatsMRSc2u on May 18, 2011, 12:35:33 PM
Just proves your IGNORANCE of me truly Patriot...I TOTALLY approve of such ventures.
Not ignorant. Just trying not to presume or make assumptions.
ADP,
I truly enjoyed your post. The best I've read here in a long time.
As I posted in another thread, Brownback has been one of the largest recipients of money from the oil and gas industry. Is it any surprise that he's trying to block alternative forms of energy?
When thousands of horseback riders (the Sturgis of horseback riders) take over for the week like the motorcycles do, I can't imagine that will help preserve the beautiful flinthills and the tallgrass. ::) ::)
Guns, I think you have a point there. If I remember right, horses have a way of stomping grass into the ground and if left alone, chewing the bark off the trunk of a tree to the point that the tree dies.
Quote from Wilma:
If I remember right, horses have a way of stomping grass into the ground and if left alone, chewing the bark off the trunk of a tree to the point that the tree dies.
Wilma, You aren't serious are you ? If so, I wonder how we have any grass in our horse pasture if all my wife's horse does is stomp the grass to death and I seriously doubt the horses on a trail ride will be left alone long enough to eat the bark off the trees. I think you have a horse confused with a beaver. But hey,if they are that destructive I say lets make jerky out of them---and why we are at it---I hate the divots cats dig in my yard to take a dump. I say round all cats up and make Chinese food out of ALL the felines.
Lest we not forget the city folks on the back of those horses Jarhead. I mean if we are going to make it a Sturgis thing, we should be willing for them to leave their bottles and cans behind. :P
Guns,
My wife went on a trail ride this past Saturday at Woolaroc, south of Bartlesville. She took bottles of water and I'll bet you a shiny dime against a dozen doughnuts, her empties were either put in her saddle bags or put in the trash barrel when they stopped for lunch-----but she aint a city girl so guess that don't count. When mentioned here about riding thru a herd of wild mommy cows( I thought a heifer became a cow when she became a "mommy" but what do I know ),on the Woolaroc trail ride they were near herds of elk and buffalo but sponsors of the ride rode ahead and ran them wild critters off. Maybe the same could be done to those killer cows in the Flint Hills.
ROTFLMAO... Chinese catfood....mommacowcritters...can-canless girls... and all the other bullsh*t one could ever hope for. LOL
Thanks jarhead, I needed a good chuckle. I'm planning a Puss n Boots Bakeoff... wanna come?
I guess I'm lost :P............I think the wind farms are the future and I think these ranches gettin people to pay good money for lettin them do chores is a most EXCELLANT idea :D.......pay me a couple hundred bucks a day and I'll find somethin for you to do too! Let you cut all the wood, build all the fence, feed all the animals you want! I'll even throw in a good homecooked meal or two...
Jarhead, you are right about the cats that use the neighbors yard for a restroom. All the more reason to confine your pet if your neighbors are close enough for them to annoy. Note: My Bud hasn't been out on the ground for most of his nine years. And when he does go out, it is inside a pet carrier. I love my pet and don't want anything to happen to him.
Also, have you never seen the path a horse stomps as he follows the fence back and forth, back and forth. Maybe your horses have never been confined to a space too small for them with nothing to do. I have seen trees killed by horses that did have enough space. That is the horses had enough space. My husband was raised on a horse, yet when we owned enough land to pasture horses, he refused to have any on the property
And to whomever mentioned that heifers had to have a calf to become a mommy, my statement did not mention heifers, it said "mommies". My husband worked for a rancher that ran Angus cows. There was one of them that went wild when her baby was born. It wasn't safe on foot in the pasture until that calf had some age on it. My husband could tell those black cows apart but I couldn't. They all looked alike to me.
Now I am not talking against Angus cattle. I have known some of them to be as good and gentle as the family dog. I have also known some of the other breeds to be untrustworthy. Personally, I would never go into a pasture where the herd did not know me, no matter what breed they were.
And finally, Jarhead, your wife is an Elk County woman, I presume. She would never do anything to sully our world.
Quote from Patriot :
I'm planning a Puss n Boots Bakeoff... wanna come?
Patriot,
Nice try my friend. I aint touching that one. Anyway all I got is my sneakers and no boots. You ever smell the rubber of baking sneakers ?
Well, Jarhead, I see you missed the point. The governor wants it to be a Sturgis! You need to do a little study of how that week goes up there. I'm not thinking they are drinking water of smoking Winstons..I'm done arguing with fools of any kind, size, or color. Besides I don't live in the Flint hills. COME ON NEW YORK CITY!!!!!!!!!!
Finally someone agrees with me that we are not in the Flint Hills. But, guns, you can keep NYC.
I can't see why anyone would want anything like Sturgis on their land. Or in their town, no matter what the financial gain might be.
Quote from: thatsMRSc2u on May 18, 2011, 10:27:26 PM
I guess I'm lost :P............I think the wind farms are the future
Well guess what, their not the future in fact they are a bane in all reality. Far too expensive to construct and use, they cannot compete with coal or nuclear in that the cost per kwh is going to be about double without subsidy which why are we subsidizing a technology that can't make it on its own. IF it were such a great thing, the free market would utilize its potential. Unfortunately, its a money pit.
Denmark is one country that has abandoned the "windfarm wagon" and Great Britan is looking to join them. Its not economical nor feasible for them to support this when they have to cut budgets in order to exist.
Quote from: srkruzich on May 19, 2011, 11:16:20 AM
Well guess what, their not the future in fact they are a bane in all reality. Far too expensive to construct and use, they cannot compete with coal or nuclear in that the cost per kwh is going to be about double without subsidy which why are we subsidizing a technology that can't make it on its own. IF it were such a great thing, the free market would utilize its potential. Unfortunately, its a money pit.
Denmark is one country that has abandoned the "windfarm wagon" and Great Britan is looking to join them. Its not economical nor feasible for them to support this when they have to cut budgets in order to exist.
yeah I know...the future is SAME SHIT DIFFERENT DAY......because humans are too stupid to change. Just keep doin what we're doin till we reach the point of no return and then act surprised when all the money cant buy us the clean air or the clean water or the UNpolluted earth we need to survive. I just really dont want to argue or read anymore.....so go ahead and tell me how wrong I am etc etc etc and how much more you know about EVERYthing than I do but I wont see it so dont expect an answer.
Quote from: thatsMRSc2u on May 19, 2011, 11:24:54 AM
yeah I know...the future is SAME SHIT DIFFERENT DAY......because humans are too stupid to change. Just keep doin what we're doin till we reach the point of no return and then act surprised when all the money cant buy us the clean air or the clean water or the UNpolluted earth we need to survive. I just really dont want to argue or read anymore.....so go ahead and tell me how wrong I am etc etc etc and how much more you know about EVERYthing than I do but I wont see it so dont expect an answer.
Its just simple economics. I don't care what reason someone wants a windfarm is, if it means my electric is double the cost of a coal plant, the hell with that. Put in a coal plant. Can't afford it as it is. Better yet, put a nuclear plant in. THats green and produces a hell of a lot more electricity and it is cheaper than building a windfarm.
And yes the BOTTOM LINE IS COST! We are on a unsustainable path in this "joke of a energy program" and we will not be able to afford to subsidize these windfarms. When they cut the subsidies for it, they will die and turn into a rusted eyesore for generations to come.
Quote from greatguns:
Well, Jarhead, I see you missed the point. The governor wants it to be a Sturgis! You need to do a little study of how that week goes up there. I'm not thinking they are drinking water of smoking Winstons..I'm done arguing with fools of any kind, size, or color. Besides I don't live in the Flint hills. COME ON NEW YORK CITY!!!!!!!!!!
guns,
For starters I didn't know we were in an argument !! I got your point but to equate bikers at Sturgis to people riding horses is comparing apples to oranges. You of all people should know about cowboys and their habits. Wasn't your Dad a RCA cowboy good enough that he rode in Madison Square Garden ? Do you think he carried that hemp rope on his saddle horn so he could toke up on the hemp after bull-dogging a steer? I didn't think so !
Yes,I'm probably a fool but I think it runs in OUR bloodlines.
And why bring MY shape into the subject. Round is a shape---get over it. Just keep it up and I will have Rita pound you to a pulp---again .
Don't you live at Piedmont ? I used to farm ground for Coonrod ranch just 3-4 miles west of Piedmont. Sure was a lot of Forracker and Florence flint (chert) in the fields and pastures for not being in the Flint Hills . Now you be a good girl and give your Mama a kiss from me and start showing some respect for your elders (that would be me )
My post from a different thread on what state and federal agencies now consider to be the Flint Hills, based on topography, geology, soils, flora and fauna, etc.
QuoteHere's the link to the map I was talking about. It was developed in 2001 by many Federal and state agencies in Kansas and Nebraska: Okay, something was wrong with the format of that link - try going to this page and then clicking on the first image.
http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/ksne_eco.htm#Please
"This poster is the product of a collaborative effort primarily between the US EPA Region VII, the US EPA National
Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (Corvallis, Oregon), the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ), the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC), the Kansas Biological Survey (KBS), the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS), the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Division of Environment (KDHE), Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP), the United States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) (formerly the Soil Conservation Service), and the United States Department of the Interior - U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) - Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center."
"This project is associated with an interagency effort to develop a common framework of ecological regions. . . . Regional collaborative projects such as this one in Nebraska and Kansas, where agreement can be reached among multiple resource management agencies, is a step in the direction of attaining commonality and consistency in ecoregion frameworks for the entire nation."
You will notice a large chunk of what has been classified Osage Cuestas in the past, is now classified as part of the Flint Hills, including large sections of Elk and Chautauqua counties, and nearly all of Greenwood.
Thank you flintauqua.
Jarhead, I can assure my Dad never unloaded a horse to go on a trail ride just for fun and yes he held a card in RCA. No, he never rode at Madison Square Garden. As a matter of fact he never even entered a rodeo at Madison Square Garden. Don't know about hemp, but he damn sure might have emptied a bottle in his day. I'll see what I can do about the respect for you and if you would ever visit any of us, you would know that I am twice the size of your beloved Rita.
Jarhead, I wasn't comapring bikers to horseback riders, that was the governor. And I stand corrected on the Flint hills, I had know idea they were spreading. Guess I really am getting old 'cause they weren't in Elk county when I was a kid learning geography.
Guns,
It could be that the same "great seismic event" that pushed our old outhouse from 3 miles from the house, to 50 yards, might of pushed the Flint Hills into Elk County . I'll ask ol Sarge cause he's a smart ol cuss.
Are you sure Cliff never bull dogged and rode bulls at Madison Square garden ? I could have swore that your Uncle Harry told me him and Cliff both did. Earned extra cash by taking care of the livestock. Either way , your Dad was a REAL cowboy and probably thought it foolish to ride just for the sake of riding.
I don't care if you are bigger than Rita. Rita has to be tough to be married all these years to that left handed, sucker punching ol man of hers.:)
I AM SURE! :) :)
Srkruzich, you call like you see 'em. A "joke of an energy program" is the best description I've seen about Wind Power.
Seems like I read that TVA is buying the electric power from the Wind Farm. TVA is owned by the government.
Quote from: redcliffsw on May 19, 2011, 06:19:27 PM
Srkruzich, you call like you see 'em. A "joke of an energy program" is the best description I've seen about Wind Power.
Seems like I read that TVA is buying the electric power from the Wind Farm. TVA is owned by the government.
Kind of like a broken record with you, huh?
Hey did you hear that the TVA is owned by the government. The government is buying power made possible by tax breaks and incentives the government invented. Oh the circle of life.
Recycle Reduce Reuse
Stay with us as we grow!
:-X :-X GOVT PROPAGANDA!!!!!!! :-X :-X
I have a joke for you ........ Knock, Knock!!
who's there??
:laugh: Wind Power! :laugh:
Quote from: PAT RIOT on May 20, 2011, 12:15:59 AM
Hey did you hear that the TVA is owned by the government. The government is buying power made possible by tax breaks and incentives the government invented.
And then selling it to citizens who pay a much higher price for it than electricity generated by other means.
STAY WITH THEM AS THEY BLOW!
Quote from: Patriot on May 20, 2011, 12:20:58 AM
And then selling it to citizens who pay a much higher price for it than electricity generated by other means.
STAY WITH THEM AS THEY BLOW!
Yes but no emissions.
STAY WITH US AS WE BLOW CLEAN AIR! The choice of the next generation.